The War of Jenkins’ Ear
Over the centuries, the Brits have fought countless wars, not least in the name of ensuring that the British Empire continued to reign supreme. But no conflict can match this one when it comes to strange names – and even more bizarre backgrounds. For, while the war may well have had complex roots, there was indeed an ear involved, even if the appendage was used as an excuse to stir up hostilities rather than being the sole cause of the first shot being fired. But first, a little background…
Under the terms of 1729’s Treaty of Seville, Spain earned the right to board British ships sailing in its waters in order to check that they were complying with long drawn-up trade rules. While the two countries were not at war, there was some serious distrust between them, and Spanish sailors would often rough up their British counterparts, not least when they were suspicious that a ship was going over the agreed limit for transporting slaves or other precious cargo. It was in such a tense atmosphere that in October of 1731 Spanish patrol boat stopped and boarded a British ship being skippered by Captain Robert Jenkins in the West Indies.
After boarding the ship, the skipper of the Spanish vessel sought out his opposite number and, upon accusing him of smuggling, proceeded to cut one of his ears clean off. Now, while this may have been a traumatic event for poor Captain Jenkins, the news hardly caused a murmur back in England. Indeed, even the sight of the detached ear, preserved in a jar of a pickle by the angry Jenkins, failed to get the British government rattling their sabres. Much to the disgust and disappointment of Captain Jenkins, it looked like the act would go unpunished. But then, things changed.
In the spring of 1738, almost seven full years after the ear had been cut off, the British public was at fever pitch, riled by numerous stories of Spanish outrages on vessels flying the Union Jack. Opponents of the Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole accused him of lacking the necessary toughness or leadership skills to deal with the growing Spanish menace on the high seas. The PM’s critics summoned Jenkins to Parliament. And, like every old sea dog, he was only too happy to tell his story again, even bringing along his pickled ear to show the house.
The PR stunt did the trick. Walpole could ignore the public sentiment or his political opponents no longer, so from October of 1739, he ordered the British Navy to start attacking Spanish vessels in the Caribbean Sea. The naval skirmishes continued for seven years, finally being brought to an end by a treaty signed in Lisbon in August 1746. By this point, however, the conflict had become just part of the wider struggle that would become known as the War of the Austrian Succession, a Europe-wide set-to that involved everyone from Prussia to the Dutch Republic and even Russia. In fact, this small incident might have been lost to history had it not been for the essayist and historian Thomas Carlyle. It was he, writing in 1858, who coined the term the War of Jenkins Ear, a name that has stuck until today.